Outside linebacker Rahyme Johnson joined the throng of UCLA players transferring, announcing his decision Wednesday on Twitter. Since Chip Kelly was hired in November 2018, more than two dozen players have left the program with eligibility remaining, many through transfers.

Nearly all of the transfer requests have come from former Jim Mora recruits. The dwindling numbers appear to make each of Kelly’s 19 recruits in this year’s class even more important, but the head coach said he understands why so many players have left in the past 15 months.

“Usually guys aren’t transferring if they’re playing at the last place,” Kelly said. “So we try to assist those guys in any way we can in terms of where they’re heading and what they can get accomplished.”

Johnson, who thanked Kelly, along with Mora and former linebackers coach Scott White on Twitter, appeared in just two games last year. The former four-star recruit from Salesian High was reduced to a scout team player during practices.

Former UCLA defensive lineman Chigozie Nnoruka, who announced his transfer from UCLA after the season ended, signed with Miami (Fla.) on Wednesday. Nnoruka made 10 starts in his first season with the Bruins in 2017 before receding into a backup role last year.

Kelly said he may also dip into the transfer market to fill any gaps in UCLA’s roster, however, he stressed that the coaching staff evaluates transfers extensively to identify if they fit at UCLA academically and athletically after not finding success at their first school.

“Maybe sometimes kids get sold a bill of goods at one school and get there for a year and now they’re looking to get out because maybe it wasn’t exactly what it was (said to be),” Kelly said. “Not all that glitters is gold. We try to sort through it. We try to be real transparent in terms of what we’re recruiting here so that when we get kids here, they’re going to stay here.”

COACHING CHANGES

Kelly confirmed the hire of outside linebackers coach Jason Kaufusi, who will replace former UCLA outside linebackers coach Roy Manning. Manning left to coach cornerbacks at Oklahoma in January after one year at UCLA.

Kaufusi, 40, just finished his second year as the defensive line coach at Nevada. Prior to that, he coached at Weber State for five years, including a stint as defensive coordinator on the 2016 team that advanced to the FCS playoffs for the first time in seven years. The former Utah defensive end is the fourth of UCLA’s five defensive coaches with coordinator experience, joining defensive backs coach Paul Rhoads, inside linebackers coach Don Pellum and defensive coordinator Jerry Azzinaro.

“He’s one of the real up-and-coming guys in this profession,” Kelly said of Kaufusi.

Manning also served as the special teams coordinator for the Bruins, a position tight ends coach Derek Sage will now adopt.

Kelly promoted offensive line coach Justin Frye to offensive coordinator in December. Addressing the move with reporters for the first time, Kelly said Wednesday that Frye “obviously earned it.” Frye helped UCLA overcome the loss of three starting offensive linemen to produce the school’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2014 last year.

“He did a ton of (coordinating) last year, it just really wasn’t a name,” Kelly said.

Kelly, who often calls his own plays from the sideline, said the coaching staff would figure out play-calling duties this spring.

Thuc Nhi Nguyen has covered UCLA for the Southern California News Group since 2016. A proud Seattle native, she majored in journalism and mathematics at the University of Washington. She likes graphs, animated GIFs and superheroes.